While the British and the French battled for hegemony in the woods of eastern America, another series of adventures and struggles shaped America along its Pacific coast. Once again, it was more disinformation than information which caused some things to happen. The Spanish, ever wary of any threat to the jewel of their empire, MexicoContinue reading “The Greatest Ocean of All”
Tag Archives: travel
The Great Plains Indians
The storied life of the Great Plains Indian nations is filled with contradictions. In the imagination of today it is easy to imagine the unsullied and pristine life of the nomadic Plains tribe, following the buffalo and secure in the vastness of their isolated terrain. Our minds eye is shaped as much by Hollywood asContinue reading “The Great Plains Indians”
French America
For the French being weak in some ways made them strong in others. They had a colder climate, and their rivers were ice bound for a good part of the year. This made it harder to attack them. They had less people. This made their presence less onerous to the Indians and caused them toContinue reading “French America”
The Middle Colonies
Between the Chesapeake Colonies and New England there existed an expanse of coast and its associated hinterlands that would soon join the English holdings and become known collectively as the Middle Colonies. They had a better climate than New England and healthier than the Chesapeake region. They proved extremely well suited for growing grains andContinue reading “The Middle Colonies”
Carolina
Unlike the other English colonies in North America the Carolinas were established under the auspices of the Lords Proprietors by West Indian planters. The Lords Proprietors, 8 extremely rich men were based in London, and they wanted experienced colonists to ensure the success of their financial venture. Many of the rich planters of the WestContinue reading “Carolina”
The West Indies
The Seventeenth Century saw the rise of the West Indies as the most important colonies of England. They were the most important because they produced abundant crops of sugar and sugar was what greased the financial wheels for the entire colonial enterprise. It afforded the profits and covered the losses to fuel a growing empire,Continue reading “The West Indies”
The Chesapeake Colonies
While England was ruled by landed nobles and people of refined education and manners, Virginia and the colonies of the Chesapeake Bay area were ruled by merchants and mechanics that worked hard and made something of themselves in a new land. It was a meritocracy instead of an aristocracy. The rise and fall of tobaccoContinue reading “The Chesapeake Colonies”
Chapter Four: The Spanish Frontier
The Spanish explorers and conquistadors launched an almost frantic century of discovery. In a few short decades they had traveled the length of the Andes and marched north from Mexico to the Rockies. Founding missions on the ruins of conquered native villages, they actively pursued a policy of replacing all the diverse native cultures withContinue reading “Chapter Four: The Spanish Frontier”
Chapter Two: The Colonizers
Several factors converged to create the climate for European dominance after the Fifteenth Century. The growing populations and limited resources provided a social impetus for expansion. The accumulation of wealth and a mercantilist economic policy which sought to make every country self-sufficient drove the Europeans to seek both raw materials and markets which could beContinue reading “Chapter Two: The Colonizers”
America: Chapter One – Indians
Native Americans (even pre-Columbian ones) are often enlisted in our contemporary debates through commercials and quotes. Such as when Iron Eyes Cody an Italian American actor famous for portraying Indians stood with an artificial tear rolling down his cheek as he looked at discarded fast food wrappers, or the stirring environmental speech supposedly given byContinue reading “America: Chapter One – Indians”
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